David Petraeus is only the Tip of the Military’s Inherent Corruption

The sexual scandal that has hit the military is not new; its public nature is, however. There have always been stories of high ups in the military that were given over to extra-marital affairs. George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower come to mind. Even so, there has been a strict code of conduct among military personnel. Now that code is being reviewed:

“According to a statement released by the Department of Defense, [Leon] Panetta believes that while the ‘vast majority’ of U.S. general officers continue to abide by traditional ethical standards, he has nonetheless become concerned about the spike in alleged misbehavior among a rising number of flag officers spanning the Army, Navy and Marines.

“‘Over the past several months, the Secretary has spoken with the service secretaries, service chiefs, and combatant commanders about those instances when senior officers have not lived up to the standards expected of them. This has been an ongoing discussion reflecting shared concerns,’ the DOD release said. ‘This week, the Secretary directed General Dempsey to work with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review how to better foster a culture of stewardship among our most senior military officers. This process is intended to reinforce and strengthen the standards that keep us a well led and disciplined military.’”

Why the uptick in sexual indiscretion? Has something changed in the military? I believe it has: Homosexuality was put on a moral and rational par with heterosexuality.

I’ve always believed that the reason homosexuality is supported in greater numbers today is because its legitimacy makes lesser sexual encounters seem to be equally morally acceptable, maybe even more so.

If the unnatural and once-thought-of immoral practice of homosexuality is now normalized for the military, then why should once prohibited immoral heterosexual practices be outlawed for military personnel?

The late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan described this phenomenon in a 1993 paper as “Defining Deviancy Down,” defined by Suzanne Fields as “lowering the bar for what was once considered deviant behavior, giving a pass to things society once scorned.”

Moynihan started from Emile Durkheim’s proposition that there is a limit to the amount of deviant behavior any community can “‘afford to recognize’ and that, accordingly, we have been re-defining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the ‘normal’ level in categories where behavior is now abnormal by any earlier standard. This redefining has evoked fierce resistance from defenders of ‘old’ standards, and accounts for much of the present ‘cultural war. . . .’”

As the amount of deviancy increases, the community adjusts its standards so that conduct once thought deviant is no longer considered so. What seems like a trivial accommodation today devolves over time into extravagant ways generationally.

The military no longer has a moral compass. Some of it may have to do with the wars they are called on to fight with no moral justification and the destruction they leave in their wake and the tragedies they bring home with them.

The Petraeus scandal is a microcosm of the greater culture. People today want what they want when they want it....and the highly extolled General has proven that he is no more exempt from sin than the next guy. And neither is anyone else in the military.

He can work out his moral lapses with his wife. My concern is with his statements made under oath about Bengazi and how he contradicted the CIA's statement in saying that it was a spontaneous protest against a video instead of an orchestrated terrorist attack. That was a lie and I want to know why he would so blatantly dispute his own organization.

Time will tell.

BeautifulAmerica

But will the mainstream ene-media let it be known far and wide??

http://profile.yahoo.com/THIJICVWKV4GG7ZWPGPSJF6AJY Ben

Oh, so you're blaming gays for heterosexuals committing adultery? Adultery is breaking the marriage contract. Gays are not married (generally) and thus are NOT breaking a contract. Learn the difference!

rick0857

Where in the he ll did that comment come from Ben? Get on subject dude, or at least pay attention to the article on your comment page.

pat78

It's called promiscuity when not married. It's all damaging to be disobedient. We were made to be virtuous unlike animals. The 10 Commandments were given to protect us after God freed his people from Egypt.

simpletony1

Yeah but she's such a fox!

TUTU

Petraeus knew better than to have someone like her next to him day in and day out. He set himself up for failure. That was his weakness. He should be held to a higher standard and he lost the "Honor" part of "Duty, Honor, Country" when he let let his libido control his brain. He is not the first and will not be the last general to do this. It is human nature and requires a strong moral compass to overcome it. He did not have one. Now, in shame, he has to live with it. It will be his legacy and that is very sad. I just hope in trying to capture some of his dignity back, he will tell the truth in the hearings now in session. I believe he will do that.

Bobseeks

I would not be surprised to find out that the democrats put this slut up to seducing Petraeus so they could use him.

soldiermom11

I would soften your language but I would not put this past obama and crew. I have to ask what would be the attributes that a woman would have to have to seduce Petraeus? Smart? (She went to Harvard) Military? (She was a colonel.) Physically fit? She designed a training program at West Point. Able to speak in terms he most related to? You bet. She had all of them. Coincidence?

Bobseeks

Soften? Why? This woman is a slut by any definition of the word.

BeautifulAmerica

We are not being cowed into "softening" our language any more. We've lost our country that way. Time to speak our minds exactly as we want, and tolerate each other's righteous anger in the name of Unity.

DontTreadOnMe11

Has she recently opened a Swiss bank account?

Jillian

Since when has sex scandals, homosexual or otherwise, taken precedence over military decisions and actions? Why isn't the military worrying more about what really went on in Benghazi, and uncovering the truth behind the attack instead of where generals play their sex games? The military should return to being a real military like it used to be: God, Country and Freedom instead of Homosexual rights and How to Cover Up for Obama's fiasco's.

Doodlebug

I don't remember anything much happening to slick willy while he was doing hanky-panky in the oval office. I agree the militry should be like it used to be and to ____ with obummers fiascos. I haven't heard the news yet today to see how Patraeus' day on the hill went but, I only hope he didn't cover up for the lying, arrogant dummicrat donkey!

richb

WHY? We have a Marxist in the Whitehouse and they can't just push him aside, poke him in the eye and keep on going (although I'd love to see that, myself). That's why. Unless.... they start a coup. The Truth is, the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF told them to stand-down and let 4 men die- I HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. And right now, they are holding something over his head. Not just an affair, either. I think these men have been setup, and set up badly. Who was head of the CIA BEFORE the General?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GEJYXREM3KZPVCMATZ65ORJRMQ Kay

Feel certain that Petraeus has been threatened along with his family if he doesn't do the bidding of the current regime. He is being forced to lie in order to keep himself and family alive. We need to find the head of this snake and cut it off.

Star-Dust

I agree with you 100% and l know it is the person wanting to become dictator of USA. This is the threaten person behind us all. We are threaten and bullied into slaves. Hate to say this, but we now have a dictator in the White House. The real reason behind the amnesty, is to legalize his self.

SSGRick

The head of this snake sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

victorbarney

Actually the Chicago marxist terrorists Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrne & co-horts of the "weathermen's" outfit really are in control. It was their plan in the 60's to put a black man in the "white" house & use all black nations in the UN to control a "Black" America, but of coarse with the "whites" of the "weathermen's terrorist group" Ayers & company to actually lead all decisions made. In fact, Barack Obama was actually RAISED in the Ayer's household. Just saying....p.s. Tell me that our CIA isn't behind a black-led marxist "new world order?" Seems you're only RACIST if you're NOT part of the Democratic/Marxism ideology. Just saying...

http://www.facebook.com/barbjeanpatton Barb Patton

Storm in a teacup to avert our attention to the real problem in that the ayatolla barack hussein (I wish I could use my middle name)(muslim) obama has been helping the muslim terrorists, and, that he has paid huge amounts of money to various peoples to keep quiet. He will and is throwing everybody under the bus to save his latte skin.

gluco30

General Petraeus is being used and his reputation for being truthful and a credible witness is naturally being attacked because of his indiscretion. It would make sense that our commander in chief would have threatened to reveal this sexual relationship if the General did not cooperate with his administrations' lies. It would make sense that they would try to blame the CIA for misinformation provided to them and in order to do that, the General would have to comply. I believe that he resigned and brought the scandal to the attention of the public himself, so that he was able to be completely truthful with his testimony regarding Benghazi. I believe he was being blackmailed by the administration so that he would falsely testify and the CIA could be blamed for everything, when in actuality it is our corrupt president. The mideast is in flames, everyone is at war- is this unrest a coincidence? I think not. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, whose takeover was encouraged by our president as a "democratic movement", now has no treaty with Israel and the mideast is imploding because of the baiting of Israel to enter into conflict with Palestine. Meanwhile, the sex scandal, the impending war in the mideast, is all a huge distraction (they are hoping), taking the heat off of our Benghazi investigation and a president who should be impeached.

BeautifulAmerica

Point the finger at Valerie Jarrett & Hillary's aide-de-camp, Huma Abedin, as well as the host of Muslim Brotherhood jihaders who obaMao has hosted at OUR White House for 4 years who "advise"/conspire with him.

DontTreadOnMe11

I believe that you are correct when you said " believe that he resigned and brought the scandal to the attention of the public himself". He knew that he was going to be the fall guy one way or the other so he may as well come clean and not have to deal with a prison sentence.

Adam

I would like to point out that Patraeus' extramarital affair began AFTER he left the military, thus he did not disgrace the uniform. He conducted himself as a Soldier when he was one, and therefore his conduct was that becoming of a senior officer.

SandraJ

Baloney! Once a soldier; always a soldier. Sin is sin is sin is sin no matter who does it.

kenhowes

Sen. Moynihan was always an enigma. His writings were regularly a devastating critique of liberal thinking and policies--but his voting record on the floor of the Senate was reliably liberal.

Joanne

He lied about the attack, what was his reason for lying if he knew the truth? How can anyone get to the bottom of this corruption when the media covers for Obama? They have been in the tank for him all along and will continue the cover-ups through his presidency.

jsmithcsa

As a retiree who still works with the military, I resolutely disagree that the military is inherently corrupt as you allege. The military -- if you define it as a fine servicemen and women who comprise it -- has not lost its moral compass.
I contend, sir, that you write in near total ignorance of today's military and your words are insult to those who work so hard to keep us free.

MilitaryVeteran

Well, as a military retiree, I would also point out that there is a serious problem in our senior military ranks right now. We honor all who serve and place their lives on the line for us. We also expect flag officers to set the highest example. Google the following general officers for 2012 and you will see how serious the leadership problem is and how deep the morale courage challenge is today: GEN Kip Ward, first lesbian BG Tammy Smith, BG Sinclair, BG Duff. All of these failed generals are in "Army Times" THIS YEAR. Most are facing serious UCMJ charges. All are the REAL insults to our soldiers and their families. There is no doubt, the standards are crashing - and our service personnel deserve so much better. It is not an isolated trend since the other Services are also showing similar incidents.

jsmithcsa

I am familiar with each of those cases and agree that they are insults to the service, but I can think of other cases going back to when I first entered the service. Nevertheless, it is unfair of the author of this article to slander a million + servicemembers for a handful of senior leaders who dishonor themselves, their families and the service.

ARMYOF69

It all started with the feminization of our military, and the allowance of open gays and lesbians being allowed into uniform.

BeautifulAmerica

Nice try. Maybe you work in an isolated part of the military.

Dissgussted

Good article. I agree with the premise. Lower the standards so anything is acceptable.

rchguns

I personally take great offense to what liberal progressives have forced upon the military. My family has had people involved in every military conflict going back to the Spanish-American war. We believe that the service of our country and putting on the line of our lives was justifiable because of the freedoms and privileges granted American citizens by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. When my oldest son decided not to reenlist I was relieved because the military has become a private hunting reserve for perverts sexual deviance almost by order of their commander-in-chief.
The military depends upon its traditions and its traditional standards to function as a greatest military in the world ever known. Every man and woman who ever served in the military knew what it meant to be able to trust the person behind you and the person next to you. That cohesiveness and comrade or he is the backbone or at least was of the military. Soldiers and sailors and airmen of our military dependent on those traditions and hold each other to a higher standard. This is what prompted the perverts, deviance,another social misfits to try to poison the military from within. And to a large part they are succeeding however in a combat situation things can change rapidly and without the trust of the person you serve with the situation becomes very volatile at best. The military needs and must regain its moral equilibrium and moral compass. There's always been rotten eggs but there are gotten rid of as soon as possible now they're promoted.

BeautifulAmerica

Wow. Great statement, great family. Thanks so very much for your/their service, and your willingness to be outspoken, not "softspoken."

ARMYOF69

Time to go back to an era when countries had armies , made up of men.

Andy

This kind of stuff happens "all the time" and "everywhere". Yes, he made a HUMAN ERROR, that DOESN'T mean he's a BAD officer or his WHOLE life should be SCRAPPED because obama and the media wants to ruin him! Look at Clinton, he was the HEAD of the WHOLE COUNTRY!! They didn't "run" him out! It takes TWO! She was probably "hired" to do it!

BeautifulAmerica

I agree about her being hired to do it & I'd like to know by whom. Petraeus' problem is that, even though he's a tough-guy, he didn't realize that obaMao is a thug. Thought he could pal around with a really bad guy. ObaMao's showing his real self more now, since the phony "election."

This isn't just a military issue. We know it is in our public (government) schools as well.The same prescription inheres for both - to look back where we departed from what made us better and return to that, just as Malachi told the Israelites of his day (ch 4:4-6).

Noni77

No kidding! Under the last two DIRNSA's (Director of the National Security Agency), expected sexual perks and sexual predation BY UPPER MANAGEMENT and SES executives has EXPLODED. The NSA Security group, under the auspices of sociopath L. Kemp Ensor III, who was promoted to top dog under Hayden BECAUSE he IS a sociopath, has gone from protecting and doing investigation for new hires and the routine re-investigating NSA employees, to an new primary role of harassing, threatening, stalking any NSA employee who reports a manager for improer sexual advances or even sexual coercion, even rape on NSA premises! (The Ann Arundel police are forbidden to investgate by obstructionist security because they aren't allowed to come onto NSA property (crime scene) and the victims aren't allowed to divulge the names of their harassers/rapists under penalty of breaking the law!!! Those employees who attempt to report incidents to the NSA IG or the NSA EEO find that THESE people are working in tandem with Security, and routinely target victims for stalking and harassment and a slander campaign of false accusations so they can call them "paranoid and delusional" and FIRE them. This is pure retaliation against whistle blowers and strictly prohibited, but Maryland Congressmen and Senators turn a willful blind eye to these criminal abuses. This goes on daily at NSA, see articles by Wayne Madsen, Sherrie Gossett, Don Soeken... and it is totally whitewashed. Yet CIA's Petraeus has one affair and is out? I guess he should have gotten his tutoring from General Hayden and General Keith Alexander, experts at stealth sexual predation and the destruction of any whistle blower who dares think this country is run by rule of law. Intelligence Oversight Committee, are you listening? Of course not. Dianne Feinstein was told about this and blew it off as well. Hypocrites. Ask Gen. Keith Alexander about his affair with the incompetent high school grad branch chief in Weapons & Space Directorate who serviced many a manager to get her position.